Types and Causes of Retrolisthesis
Retrolisthesis occurs when the height of the intervertebral discs or the height between vertebrae is reduced. The exact reason why the intervertebral discs become shorter is still unclear. However, some major risk factors and possible causes include arthritis, birth defects in kids, traumatic fractures, stress, bone or blood infections, spine injury, weak core muscles, nutritional deficiencies of the elements that help strengthen bones and repair nerves, cartilage, or discs, and other conditions that weaken your bones, such as rickets and osteoporosis. [2]
Retrolisthesis can be divided into 3 main forms, based on the displacement of your vertebra to the nearby vertebra.
– Stairstepped retrolisthesis: A vertebra moves ahead of the part of a below spinal segment, but backwards to the one above
– Partial retrolisthesis: A vertebra moves backwards to a spinal segment located either above or below
– Complete retrolisthesis: A vertebra moves backwards to both the spinal segments located below and above. [3]
